Persepolis 2007

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Persepolis is a true original in the eclectic world of animation, one that's full of fascinating contradictions. Read more

Tasha Robinson, Chicago Tribune: In spite of all the idealistic baggage, the film feels like it's traveling light. The fluid handmade visuals hang onto the uniqueness of Satrapi's heavy-lined work while giving them a smoothness and a visual depth they previously lacked. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Persepolis, austere as it may look, is full of warmth and surprise, alive with humor and a fierce independence of spirit. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: If anything, the tonal simplicity of the film lends itself to graphic wit, a rich array of emotional experience and an austere impression of Iran as a place where ordinary fun, as Satrapi remembers it, could get a young person in trouble. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: The two main points Persepolis makes are that strife is relative, and all politics are personal. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Persepolis may be a crudely drawn, two-dimensional cartoon, but it packs more genuine emotion than plenty of live-action dramas. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It's The 400 Blows viewed from behind a veil and drawn with a graceful, ironic black-and-white pen. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: A reminder that even the most complex situations, identities and stories are heartbreakingly simple. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The story's greatest value lies in its elegant twining of the universal and the obscure: Satrapi's coming-of-age should be familiar to all, but along with it come startling glimpses of everyday life under the heavy hand of a Muslim theocracy. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: A film as personal and eccentric as Satrapi's original book, a black-and-white, hand-drawn memoir of growing up and away from Iran. Read more

Tom Charity, CNN.com: An exuberant autobiographical film and dark-horse contender for an animated feature Oscar. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed 2003 autobiographical graphic novel series has been turned into one of the most complexly moving animated films I've ever seen. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Few movies capture so well the fluid, fulsome response of children to their (and our) complex worlds. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The movie sparkles with witty self-awareness. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: More than just the first film in recent memory to be considered a must-see, Persepolis begs for a second viewing, if only to chart the way it so delicately weaves together the different stages of Marjane's life. Read more

Globe and Mail: The film has to simplify the story, but it allows more breadth to develop one lovely character particular, Satrapi's beautiful grandmother. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: Among the most original and moving films at Cannes this year, marked by a highly expressive and varied drawing style and the sense of a plucky young woman navigating the turbulent currents of politics, family and adolescence. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: Persepolis provides an achingly intimate view of how one young girl's hopes and fantasies come under siege by events beyond her control. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: Not to be missed in any language. In a year that has given us such marvelous animated movies as Ratatouille and Paprika, this vibrant, sly and moving personal odyssey takes pride of place. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: There is no denying the boldness of Persepolis, both in design and in moral complaint, but there must surely be moments, in Marjane's life as in ours, that cry out for cross-hatching and the grown-up grayness of doubt. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: An exhilarating reminder of what animation can do that other media can't. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR.org: The film's nuanced view of social issues is complemented by lovely black-and-white animation work that blends Islamic motifs into a sort of Yellow Submarine-ish world. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: The black-and-white animation won't dazzle your eyes, but everything else about Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's adaptation of Satrapi's graphic comic book series Persepolis will hold you in its thrall. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: It is a vivid, at times heartbreaking, portrait of a life and a nation in crisis. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: By turns whimsical, satirical and poignant to the point of heartbreak. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Animated by hand, often in glorious black and white, this French classic has the pathos, wit and intellectual sting of great political filmmaking. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: A riveting odyssey in pictures and words. It's unlike any journal you've read or any animated movie you've seen. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It might seem that her story is too large for one 98-minute film, but Persepolis tells it carefully, lovingly and with great style. It is infinitely more interesting than the witless coming-of-age Western girls we meet in animated films. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: It's a mind-blower. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: This is a sturdily poetic movie, rendering in black-and-white a world where nothing ever is. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's striking how much emotion Satrapi is able to convey through these blocky drawings, which are simple but powerfully chosen. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The subtlety of the interplay among the three generations of women is extraordinary. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This French-speaking Iranian cartoon clan is one of the most relatable families I've seen onscreen in ages. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Persepolis is a superb film about a young girl's coming of age amidst war, fascism and family tragedy. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: A funny, sometimes dark, always affecting story of surviving the worst through a sense of humor. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: A delightful, curious film that indulges in both the personal and the political and provides a potted history of modern Iran through one woman's experience. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: With its powerful fusion of the whimsical, satirical and emotional, Persepolis may well be the most original, inventive and moving film of the year. Read more

Lisa Nesselson, Variety: Any stragglers still unconvinced that animation can be an exciting medium for both adults and kids will run out of arguments in the face of Persepolis. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Persepolis is a small landmark in feature animation. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: Marjane Satrapi, with co-director Vincent Paronnaud, has taken her work and turned it into a vigorous, revealing and tragic film. Read more